MUNDY TOWNSHIP, Michigan — A Durand School District janitor-turned-school board member with aspirations of cleaning up administrative spending was arrested in Mundy Township on Friday on a suspected drug violation, police said.

Paul Mayers, 47, was arrested at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Fenton Road, said Mundy Township Police Chief James Petres.

Mayers contends he did nothing wrong.

"I talked with my attorney and he thinks it's just a misunderstanding and everything should be dropped within a couple of days," Mayers said.

Mayers was released and has not been charged.

Petres said police are still awaiting lab reports, which could take a "couple weeks," but that officers arrested Mayers because they suspected a substance they found was heroin.

Mayers has said he will not resign from his board seat. He declined to elaborate on details of the arrest.

"They (attorneys) told me not to discuss it with anybody," Mayers said.

Petres said the arresting officer was working on a tip about either Mayers or the vehicle he was in.

The Durand resident was elected to the school board in 2010 with hopes of analyzing the number of administrators and their salaries and stopping the outsourcing of services provided by district employees.

Mayers has worked as a janitor with the district since 1995. He became eligible to run for a board seat after the board outsourced his work, making him the employee of private contract provider Professional Contract Management Inc.

Durand Superintendent Cindy Weber said she was "stunned, shocked," to learn about the arrest.

"We've never had a situation like this before," Weber said. "It's the first time anything like this has ever happened, at least since I've been here."

Weber said Mayers has been suspended from his job pending a police and PCMI investigation. If and when he returns will be up to PCMI, Weber said.